(Eagle News) — Senators Vicente Sotto III and Panfilo Lacson are seeking a Senate investigation into what they said was a possible violation by some “covered institutions” of the Anti Money and Laundering Act in connection with the supposed “splitting” of Commission on Elections Chair Andres Bautista’s 35 bank accounts in one “small thrift bank.”
Lacson and Sotto filed on Thursday Resolution No. 468 “directing” the Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies to look into the matter, “with the end in view of recommending further measures to promote efficient compliance with the AMLA and amending further the said law.”
In filing the resolution, the senators noted that there were reports about Bautista’s 35 accounts with Luzon Development Bank–30 in the Fort Bonifacio, Taguig branch and 5 in the Makati branch–amounting to P329 million.
They noted that Bautista, as someone who “holds a prominent public position in the Philippines,” was considered a “politically exposed person,” a fact the LDB, as a “covered institution under AMLA should take reasonable measures to determine.”
“The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Circular No. 950, series of 2017, on the Anti Money Laundering Regulations of the Manual of Regulations for Banks and Manual of Regulations for Non-Bank Institutions provides that covered institutions shall specify criteria and description of the types of customers that are likely to pose low, normal or high money laundering/terrorist financing risk to their operations, as well as the standards in applying reduced, average and enhanced due diligence,” they said.
They noted that “whenever enhanced diligence is applied,” the institution should “in addition to the profiling of customers and monitoring of their transactions, require additional information, and/or documents from the customer; conduct validation procedures; obtain senior management approval for establishing business relationship; conduct enhanced ongoing monitoring of the business relationship; require the first payment to be carried out through an account with the customer’s name with a bank subject to similar customer due diligence standards where applicable; and perform such other measures as the covered person may deem reasonable and necessary.”
“Whereas, the splitting of accounts of the Comelec chair in one small thrift bank so as not to be under the radar of the Anti Money Laundering Council likewise should be looked into,” they said.
“Now therefore, be it resolved as it is hereby resolved, to direct the senate committee…to conduct an inquiry…,” they added.
